Perry spent six seasons as associate head coach at Illinois. Prior to his time in Champaign, Illinois, Perry coached at Cal Poly and Penn State. While at Cal Poly he served as co-head coach in 2010-11 and as an assistant coach in 2009-10.

As a college competitor at Iowa, Perry was a two-time NCAA champion and four-time All-American. He helped lead the Hawkeyes to an NCAA team national championship in 2008.